The present invention relates generally to recloseable flexible packages for hermetically sealing consumable products between generally opposing package films. More particularly, the invention relates to a flexible recloseable package having a formed food product cavity which is uniquely suited for packaging thinly sliced food products such as luncheon meats and a vertically extending portion disposed above the formed product cavity which contains one or more openings to accommodate a hook member for the vertical display of the package in a manner such that the package provides the consumer with the ability to observe both sides of a stack of shingled, sliced food products.
The freshness of food products such as bacon, sliced luncheon meats, cheeses and the like which are sold prepackaged to consumers depends upon the extent to which the package is vacuum-packed or gas-flushed and subsequently hermetically sealed. Often, the purchaser does not use the food products contained within such packages at once, but rather uses them over an extended period of time. When the initial hermetic seal of the package has been breached during the opening thereof, a portion of the total amount of packaged product is often removed. In such instances, the package cannot be effectively sealed if it does not have a recloseable seal to preserve the freshness of the food product stored therewithin. The purchaser must then repack the food products in a different suitably recloseable container.
Additionally, many prepackaged food products have their package seals located close to the vertical edge of the package. From a marketing standpoint, such a package cannot be displayed on a vertical product display, because any display opening would be positioned beneath the package seal and destroy the integrity of the seal.
Further, many food products are often presliced and packaged in either an ordered stack wherein only the front face of the first slice can be viewed from the package exterior or wherein the slices are randomly arranged or "jumbled" within the package. Moreover, such packages can not be effectively used to hold thinly sliced food products such as luncheon meats within the package. Thinly sliced food products of the type suitable for packaging according to the present invention can be defined as including between about 22 and 36 slices per inch of the vertical height of the food product stack. With this slicing parameter, the resultant slices are somewhat delicate in nature and are prone to tearing and disassociating when not properly supported. With such tearing thinly sliced luncheon meats currently commercially available are often packaged in a somewhat disorganized manner between opposing flexible package panels. The haphazard manner in which these food products are displayed and viewed by the consumer may create a lack of confidence therein by a consumer in that the slices appear to be overly processed and of poor quality. By arranging the thinly sliced food products in a neat shingled stack and retaining the stack in an aesthetically pleasing position within a flexible package product cavity in a manner so such that both of the front and rear surfaces of the shingled stack are viewable from the outside improves the consumer perception of such food products.
Accordingly, a need exists for an improved food product package of the type having multiple seals which can be easily displayed in a vertical setting and which contains a formed product cavity which product cavity vertically displays a stack of thinly sliced food products so that front and rear faces of the food product stack are visible through the front panel of the package.
The improved packages of the present invention provide significant advantages in that one of the two package flexible films has a food product cavity formed therein which is tapered such that the product cavity film has a substantial portion which is inclined with respect to its covering film. The cover package film is hermetically sealed to the product cavity film around the entire periphery of the tapered product cavity. This package first seal is hermetic and is positioned interior of a package second seal in the form of a recloseable seal assembly so that the package is liquid tight and suitably retains within the package, the fluids of the products contained therein, including water, juices, oils and the like. The recloseable seal assembly is positioned above the package hermetic seal on two opposing faces of vertically extending package portions of the two package films and therefore the package can be opened and closed repeatedly to remove a portion or all of the package contents without destroying the integrity of the package. A "zipper" seal consisting of interengaging components such as rib and groove fastener elements is the preferred recloseable seal means. The vertically extending package portions contain openings extending through the panels above the recloseable seal assembly which permit the packages to be arranged for display, such as by hanging from a peg or hanger or the like in which the thickest depth of the tapered product cavity accommodates a folded-over portion of a shingled stack of thinly sliced food products and wherein the thinner depth section of the tapered product cavity accommodates the shingled edges of some of the shingled, folded slices.
The hermetic seal disposed on the two package film panels around the periphery of the product has an easy open or "peel" seal portion located adjacent to the product and interior of and below the recloseable seal. The recloseable seal is opened with digital pull-apart forces which are also used to open the peel seal. The peripheral hermetic seal can maintain a vacuum, pressurized and/or gas-flushed environment within the package.
The recloseable seal components of the packages of this invention are attached to confronting faces of the vertically extending portions of the two opposing package films. The two interengaging fastener elements are firmly anchored to the opposing package panels and are permanently sealed together at their opposite ends, which decreases the possibility that the package panels may tear or separate when the hermetic seal is opened.
A third package seal which is tamper-evident is formed by the opposing vertically extending portions by sealing their tops together to form a tamper-evident strip which must be removed or broken to gain access to the package first and second seals.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved recloseable flexible package for use with stacks of sliced food products, which package has a first, hermetic peel seal disposed peripherally adjacent to the products and a second, recloseable seal disposed exterior of the hermetic seal.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a multi-seal recloseable package for food products and the like having a first hermetic seal located between two opposing package panels and having a peelable seal area adjacent to and interior of a second recloseable seal located between two vertically extending package portions which forms a recloseable mouth of the package, and a third, permanent seal located above and exterior to the recloseable seal at the package top.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an improved recloseable package for sliced food products having a formed product cavity wherein the product cavity is tapered such that the depth of the same decreases as the product cavity approaches the top of the package, and wherein recloseable seal elements are attached to extending portions of two opposing package panels disposed above the product cavity, and the extending portions have means for supporting the package on a vertical display.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improved package for sliced food products having a peelable hermetic seal disposed around the periphery of the food product on a peripheral margin of a formed product cavity interiorally adjacent a recloseable seal, the recloseable seal extending laterally between package ends exterior of the peelable seal, a portion of the package containing the recloseable seal having means to accommodate peg board display hooks and a permanent seal exterior of the recloseable seal and peg board mounting means having tamper-evident means thereon, and wherein the sliced food products are displayed so as to permit the texture and muscle definition of at least some of the slices to be viewed from the outside of the package.
These and other objects of the present invention will become more readily apparent from a reading of the following detailed description.